The Louvre and Notre Dame (June 25th)

The Louvre is the most revered museum in Paris, and today we were going to tour it. Because of its popularity, we were determined to get there right as it opened. And we did so. We weren't the first in line, but we were close. Once inside, the Louvre was enormous. I was completely overwhelmed. Our audio guides were on Nintendo 3DS. Which I completely did not understand. We are in the museum. We can see everything in 3D. Oh well. Since we all move at different paces through the museum, (I fly through them apparently) we decided to just set a meeting time of 3 hours later in the main room. Jennifer and I stayed together for the most part, she moves at a quicker pace as well. On our map, that folded out into four floors, we made the goal of seeing all of the art pieces mentioned on the side. So that turned out to six per floor. Now that may sound easy, but the Louvre is absolutely huge. And very much resembles a maze. Some of the classics that we saw included: Venus de Milo, Nike, the Mona Lisa, the Seated Scribe, and the Colossal Statue of Ramesses II. (Which turned out to be not so colossal). For a more accurate description of our feelings towards the Louvre...please see Jennifer's video below. (it's a few minutes in)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yzrVnrrtac&feature=youtu.be

After our adventure at the Louvre, we visited the Eiffel Tower...for the third time. This time we didn't actually make our way to the base of the tower, but rather a few hundred feet away. The goal of this Eiffel Tower visit was to take cheesy touristy pictures of us poking the top of the Eiffel Tower, leaning up against it, and hugging it. It was quite the scene watching hundreds of tourists scattered about the square holding their arms up and moving according to their "photographers'" direction to get that special camera shot. (That everyone else has) However, it was still a pretty cool picture, so I didn't mind too much looking like a tourist. 

 After our quick picture stop, we started walking the Champs Elysee for the second time, but this time in the sun! (Much more pleasant). We stopped in the fanciest McDonald's in Paris for some McFlury's. Jennifer and I had a very difficult time trying to pronounce the French words for "strawberry" and "mango". The waitress just laughed and asked us to speak English. How insulting. Sort of, but not really. It was more of a confirmation that learning new languages is ridiculously challenging. When we reached the top of the Champs Elysee, we hopped on the metro and headed down to see Notre Dame. For me, this was probably my favorite cathedral that we would see during our entire European escapade. It was an absolutely breathtaking cathedral with amazing architecture. It was the most widely known cathedral in Paris. And. There was a fantastic Disney movie made about it. While walking through the Notre Dame, I was astonished at two things. 1) Even though there are dozens of signs that read "Silence, please", people still talk in their normal voices. 2) While looking at the altar, I was approached by an elderly French woman who proceeded to tell me the entire story of Notre Dame...in French. She didn't once pause to see if I was understanding her. So, trying to be as polite as possible, I just nodded my head and said "Oui" a few times before eventually slipping away. 

Dinner tonight was once again courtesy of Jenn's friend. Unfortunately I do not remember the name of this restaurant, but I do remember that it was delicious. This restaurant was another set menu with the three courses for 11 euro. With free water and free bread, I was in heaven before we even ordered. Tonight my meal was: A smoked salmon salad, chicken filet with green beans and fries, and the most delicious chocolate mousse I have ever eaten in my entire life. Somehow, I am going to have to learn to make chocolate mousse back in the States. It's a must. Although we were all completely stuffed, we had a second dessert. Crepes. I had a banana and Nutella crepe and I was in heaven. I may have been in a food coma, but I was in heaven. If I lived in Paris, crepes would be the death of me.

Tomorrow morning, we would leave for Caen to visit the American cemetery and D-Day memorial. From there, we would go to Normandy to spend the next day in Mont St. Michel. Yet another early morning awaited me, but by now I was used to it and eager to get on the train.